Superior is a seven issue miniseries written by Mark Millar and illustrated by Lenil Francis Yu that doubles as an unapologetic love letter to the Christopher Reeve Superman films and the character of Superman in general.
Twelve year old Simon Pooni used to have promise as a basketball player, but fate decided against it. Simon was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and quickly began to lose control of his legs. Trapped in crutches or a wheelchair, Simon's crushed dreams and cruel classmates left him in a deep depression.
The only escape he has is Superior, a series of superhero films starring the titular Flying Brick, played by constant "I Am Not Spock" victim Tade Scott. Simon idolizes the character, fantasizing about what it would be like to have such incredible power. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a wish-granting space monkey named Ormon shows up and transforms him into the fictional superhero.
His wildest dream now a reality, Simon sets out to emulate the selfless hero he idolizes and flies off to try and fix the world's problems. However, unknown to him, Ormon is not who he says he is, and his wish may come with great consequences...
The series is also noteworthy for its title character being the subject of an attempt at the world record for "Fastest Comic Book Produced" as well as "Biggest Number of Creators Contributing to a Book."
Provides examples of:
- Adaptational Superpower Change: It's mentioned In-Universe that Superior had powers in the comics that didn't make it into the movies, we aren't told what they were and if Simon got them.
- Badass Bystander: Tade Scott masquerades as Superior to buy time for people to flee from Abraxas.
- Batman Gambit: Ormon knows that Simon can't resist an emergency that would require him to become Superior. So he transforms a bully into Superior's archnemesis to raze New York, forcing Simon to agree to sell his soul so he can save the city. If only he had taken into consideration that Immortality was one of Superior's powers.
- Berserk Button: Don't talk shit about Simon's mom.
- Big Bad: Ormon.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: In-Universe example. Despite knowing that the character of Superior has been around since the 1940s and originated in comics, Simon's Superior form has Tade Scott's face.
- Complete Immortality: Why Ormon's Deal with the Devil falls through. Due to Superior getting his powers from the sun, he won't die for billions of years so his soul can't be claimed.
- Deal with the Devil: Ormon is in actuality a demon from Hell looking to obtain a soul after centuries of failure. He offers Simon and Sharpie superpowers in exchange for the former's soul and the latter to force the former to uphold the deal.
- Dedication: The series is dedicated to Christopher Reeve and Richard Donner.
- Destructive Savior: Simon causes a lot of property damage while operating as Superior.
- Didn't Think This Through: What undoes Ormon. When they drag him down to hell, his fellow demons literally laugh on how it never occured to this idiot that it's pretty hard to collect the soul of someone you just made immortal.
- Disability-Negating Superpower: A wheelchair-bound child is transformed into a Flying Brick.
- The Dragon: Sharpie as Abraxas.
- Enfante Terrible: Sharpie gladly murders his parents as sacrifice to become Abraxas.
- Expy:
- Despite Superior clearly being Superman, Simon's Super Hero Origin matches that of Billy Batson and Captain Marvel. His disability also calls to mind Captain Marvel Jr.
- Madeline Knox for Lois Lane.
- Expy Coexistence: Word of God implied the Superman franchise exists in-universe, both series created by people who subconsciously remember theUtopian before the Fraternity wiped him from existence.
- Faked Kidnapping: Simon writes a letter to his mom, pretending he was kidnapped. He notes the similarities to the movie, Big as he dies so.
- A Form You Are Comfortable With: Subverted. While it's a form that's somewhat familiar to him, Simon reacts accordingly as any sensible human being would to an alien monkey showing up in his room. The thing is that said alien monkey is actually a demon from Hell.
- Franchise Zombie: In-universe, the Superior film series is on its fifth installment, and its actor has been playing the character for fifteen years. It's implied that the franchise has been tapering off, as the theater is currently only half-full. The events of the series, though, end up revitalizing the films.
- Heel Realization: Madeline realizes how much being Superior means to Simon, as well as discovering how much sympathy she had for his plight. Because of this, she decides to abort her plans to expose the truth behind Superior to the world.
- I Am Not Spock: Tade Scott is forever tied to the role of Superior. Simon and Chris exposit that Scott has been unable to get any other work.
- I Just Want to Be Special: Simon feels as though he is a burden to everyone around him due to his disability. As Superior, he would be able to help anyone who needs it and finally be useful for once.
- I Wish It Were Real: The entire premise behind the series.
- Kid Hero: Simon has the heart of a hero, which he puts to good use in the form of Superior.
- Lighter and Softer: By far the sunniest and most optimistic series that Mark Millar has ever written, at least until Huck, which shares
many similarities with this one. - Meaningless Villain Victory: Ormon wins. Simon has sold his soul to become Superior again. Unfortunately, Superior is an immortal, indestructible being who can never die. In short, Ormon just bought something he can never collect.
- Ms. Fanservice: Madeline is very buxom and wears flattering outfits that show off her assets. In fact, her initial plan was to seduce Superior into revealing his secrets. Her finding out he's really a kid puts a stop to that.
- The Not-Love Interest: Madeline and Superior/Simon have no romantic feelings or interactions between them. Especially since one is a grown woman and the other is really twelve years old. Even before she discovers the truth, the two remained in a platonic relationship.
- Oh, Crap!: When the above-mentioned Loophole Abuse is spelled out and the ramifications become clear Ormon realises exactly how screwed he is.
- Older Alter Ego: Simon is transformed into the adult Superior.
- The Power of the Sun: Like Superman, Superior gets his powers from Earth's sun.
- Reed Richards Is Useless: Averted. Superior goes directly to Barack Obama to offer his services. As a result he flies around the world at top speed and frees multiple hostages and villages from terrorists. He then worked to prevent disasters, feed those suffering from famine, and safely disposed of nuclear weapons that were out of date. By the end of the book, however, these solutions ultimately do not last as new problems arise. Despite this, Superior's efforts are recognized and appreciated.
- Shout-Out: Superior disposes of nuclear missiles by throwing them into space.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism: Firmly on the Idealistic side.
- Superman Substitute: Superior is obviously Superman, with a generous helping of Shazam/Captain Marvel (who was one of the first Superman copycats).
According to Millar, Superior and Superman are the results of humans subconsciously remembering the Utopian after The Fraternity wiped them all out. - Wham Line: "An angel? That's hilarious. I'm afraid I'm actually quite the opposite."
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Madeline takes Simon to a children's hospice to show other kids with similar afflictions as him. She also explains that when she was younger, she was diagnosed with leukemia. She got better, and she discovered her love of reading and writing while recovering, paving the way for her to become a journalist. Here, Simon learns to be happy with what he's got instead of what he doesn't, allowing him to put his I Just Want to Be Special attitude behind him once and for all.
- Your Mom: Simon's personal Berserk Button.
